Guy-clamp.



H. W. PLEISTER.

GUY CLAMP.

APPLICATION FILED MAY [3. "H6- 1,230,21 5. Patented June 19, 1917.

mlliilll%%%%%lillllll\ll i id N w l-lllllll llllllll-llllllllllllis,

mm m 10 2 garrrrm l /VKEZTOR 87 ATTORNEY! UNITED STATES PATENT ornionHENRY W. PLEISTER, OF- WESTFIELD, NEW J ERSEY, ASSIGNOR T0 HENRY B.NEWHALL.

GUY-CLAMP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 19, 1917.

Application filed May 13, 1916. Serial No. 97,297.

To all whom it may concern Be it known-that I, HENRY W. PLEISTER, acitizen of the United States, residing-at Westfield, in the county ofUnion and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Guy-Clamps, of which the following is a specification,taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing.

My invention relates to guy clamps and more particularly to such guyclamps as are used in telephone and telegraph installations. v

Among the advantages of my invention are greater efficiency in grippingand holding what are known in telegraph and telephone construction asmessenger and guy strands, economy inconstruction, and simplicity andease of application and reducing the number of partsof the ordinaryclamp now in use by omitting the nuts.

In the accompanying drawing in which the same reference numeral refersto similar parts in the several figures.

Figure 1 is a plan view partly broken away for purposes of clearerillustration;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section substantially on the line 2- 2of Fig.1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section substantially on the line 33 of Fig. 1,looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4: is a transverse vertical section substantially on the line H ofFig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view showing one of the advantages of my clampover the old form.

The common practice of running messenger strands between poles, up to acomparatively recent date, was to take the end which would not reach tothe next pole, known among the linemen as the dead end, wrap it aroundthe last pole reached, This caused a loss of from approximately ten toone hundred feet of'most expensive wire messenger'strand.

In the new practice the messenger strand is continued without wrappingor other interruption by means of connections should the end ofmessenger strand not extend to the next pole. The free end of themessenger strand is bent back on itself forming an eye (not shown) whichengages the end of the next stretch of messenger.

The end of the messenger which is bent back is secured by means ofseveral guy 1 clamps to obtain the necessary holding capacity. Theslipping of the guy clamps is very dangerous for the reason that it mayoccur when a lineman is in a boatswains seat between poles causing lossof life. Or if the guy clamp is used to brace a pole the guy clamp mightslip when the pole is under heavy wind or sleet pressure permitting thepole and wires to fall. For these reasons a plurality of ordinary guyclamps have to be used for each connection which necessitates anadditional outlay and additional labor in installing them.

In my improved guy clamp 1 the parts are so formed that I dispense withthe use of nuts, make my clamp of the minimum amount of metal, therebysaving expense, and at the same time so locate the metal in the clampthat this saving of material has an additional advantage as it permitsthe portion of the clamp 2 which lies between the thicker or more rigidparts of the clamp 3 to yield slightly at 4, 4 when great pressure isexerted by the bolts 5, 5-v In the drawing this yielding of the weakenedportion 2, as shown by lines l, 4, is exaggerated, for purpose ofclearer illustration.

The clamping member 6, is provided with a plurality of bosses 8, Shavingan opening 9 large enough to permit free passage of the bolts 5.

The clamping member 7 is provided with bosses 10, 10 which are tapped toform female screwthreads to cooperate with the male screwthreads on thebolts 5, 5. To permit these bolts to have a strong and powerful grip Ipreferably extend the bosses 10, 10 so that they extend out a littlemore from the member 7 than do the bosses 8 of the member 6. By havingthe bolts screwed directly into these bosses 10 I avoid the necessity ofusing nuts, their expense, and the additional labor of applying them.

' Both the bosses 8 and 10 are preferably, though not necessarily,formed as truncated cones. This tends to distribute the tremendouspressure of the bolts over the messenger strands 11, which lie in theclamp 1, in such a manner as to give the greatest compressionimmediately adjacent to the bolts and the least pressure at points 12,12in the surface of contact at equi-distant points between the bolts 5.

This is particularly advantageous as it is found in practice that aclamp which gives an equal pressure throughout the surface of contactreadily slips under the strains to which these devices are subjected. Itis for this reason that a plurality of such old clamps have to be used.With my invention it is only necessary to use one clamp for, in effect,my clamp makes a plurality of bites into the messenger or guy strandwithout, however, injuring in any particular the small wires whichtogether form the messenger or guy strand or cable. By using my clampshould it be desired at some future time to use the messenger strand orguy strand, in some other location, the portion engaged by my clamp willnot have any of the constituent wires marred, or broken which would, ofcourse, seriously lessen its strength which is found to be the case withsome of the guy clamps now in use. 1

Each member 6 and 7 is preferably provided with grooves 12, 12 toreceive the messenger strands 11, 11, or guy strands as the case may be.The size of these grooves 12, 12 as well as the size of the members 6and 7 will be varied to cooperate with a messenger strand or guy cableof any cross section.

It will be noted that the conical truncated bosses 8 have their bases inthe bearing surface 13, Fig. 4:, of the member 6, while the conicaltruncated bosses 10 have their bases in the bearing surfaces 14; of themember 7. These bearing surfaces 13 and 141 are the opposed surfaces ofthe members 6 and 7. By this construction the bases of these truncatedcones 8 and 10 extend beyond the vertical axes of the wire strands ormessenger 11, 11 and transmit the compression of the bolts 5, 5 withgreatest force at points in the strands 11, 11 nearest the axis of thebolt. Moreover by this construction having the bases of the truncatedcones inthe bearing surfaces of the members 6 and 7, the compression isa positive one for the bases of the cones- 8 extend and merge into theouter'surfaces 15, 15 of the memher 6, Fig. 5, while the bases of thecones 10 extend and merge into the outer surfaces 16, 16 of the member7.

I have shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5 this particular advantage of myclamp over one in which the strands or wire cable are clamped by memberswhich do not lie in the base of truncated'cones. In this Fig. 5, thedotted line indicates such a construction wherein after a certain amountof pressure has been applied the surfaces gripping the wire cable wouldtend to spring or bend at the points 17, 17'. In my construction thisaction is impossible and consequently I can get a far greatercompression on the strands of wire cable.

In my preferred. construction I preferably alternate the rigid portions3 and the relatively yielding or flexibleportions 2.

I preferably make my guy clamp of mallcable iron and have found that ithas a far greater bending limit than the old style rectangular blockforms of clamps. I I

While I have illustrated and described the bosses 8, 8 and 10, 10 asbeing frustums of cones, it is to be distinctly understood that they maybe frustums of cones, pyramids, or the frustums of any polyhedron. Forconvenience and brevity I have in some of the claims included frustumsof cones but it is to be understood that any equivalent construction isincluded such as frustums of pyramids or any polyhedron.

Having thus described this invention in connection with severalillustrative embodiments thereof, tothe details of which I do not desireto be limited, what is claimed as new and what is desired to secure byLetters Patentvis set forth in the appended claims. I s

1. A guy clamp formed of two members, each member having comparativelyrigid portions and intermediate said rigid portions comparatively weakportions which at great pressure yield slightly, andmeans' passingthrough the comparatively rigid portions to clamp the two memberstogether.

2. Aguy clamp formed of two members, each member having comparativelyrigid portions which on one member are provided with internalscrewthreads and on the other with an opening for a bolt, andintermediate said rigid portions comparatively weak portions which atgreat pressure yield slightly, and bolts to engage directly with theopenings in one member and screwed into the other member and hold-theclamp together without the use of nuts. 7

3. A guy clamp formed of two members each of the members provided withbosses in the form of frustums of cones, and intermediate said bossescomparatively .weak portions, the bosses on one of the members beingprovided with interior screwthreads to cooperate directly with thescrewthreads of the bolts, bolts to clamp the members together withoutthe aid of nuts, whereby the greatest compression will be immediatelyadjacent the bolts and the least compression at apoint in the surface ofcontact equidistant between the bolts.

4. A guy clamp formed'of two members, each member having alternatelyrigid and comparatively flexible'or yielding areas, and means passingthrough the rigid areas to clamp them together.

g 5. A guy clamp formed of two members, each member having rigidportions in, the form of truncated cones whose bases lie in the bearingsurface of said members, and comparatively flexible or yielding areas,between said cones, and means passing through the rigid portions toclamp the members together. i

6. A guy clamp formed of two members,

each member having rigid portions in the form of truncated cones Whosebases lie in the bearing surface of said members, and intermediate saidrigid portions comparatively flexible or yielding areas, bolts pass--ing through the rigid portions, the bases of said truncated cones beingextended to span the weakened areas and to extend beyond the verticalaxes of the Wire strand to be clamped, thereby transmitting the pressureof the bolt about the circumference of the strand With greatest force ata point nearest the center of said bolts, and With least force at apoint equi-distant between the bolts.

7. A malleable iron guy clamp formed of two members, each havingalternately rigid and comparatively flexible or yielding areas, andmeans passing through the rigid areas to clamp them together.

8. A malleable iron guy clamp formed of tWo members, each havingalternately rigid portions in the form of truncated cones with theirbases in the respective bearing surface of the members, andcomparatively flexible or yielding areas between the rigid portionsWhereby great bending limit is obtained, and means passing through therigid portions to clamp the members together.

HENRYWV. PLEISTER.

Witnesses:

A. M. WILLIAMS, M. R. RYAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

